Zoids: Battle Century
by Darquarius
Summary: Alternate Universe Fic. Reed Richards is a shining example of the kind of soldiers and leaders that Zenebas wants in his army. But when a hostile encounter replaces what should've been a routine training exercise, the now disenfranchised noble is left in the world at large to figure out what happened, who was behind it, and more importantly, how to get back home.
1. Author's Preface

Alright, before we get into the actual meat of this story, I just wanted to clue anyone who might happen to read it into the fact that I won't be using any of the main characters or plots from any existing anime or game, except maybe in reference. This story is the result of a d20 Zoids campaign that some friends and I played as a tabletop role playing game. The story never got to see it's conclusion though, and that bothered me, so I'm writing it out as a fanfiction.

The setting is an alternate universe Planet Zi, where you have a very different version of the battle story occurring. The protagonist and his adventuring party are all original characters, and while I'm using them all for the purpose of this fanfiction? Their respective owners each maintain the appropriate intellectual copyrights. Express permission has been requested, and received, for each character in this fanfiction that doesn't belong to me (except for the ones that belong to Tomy and Hasbro as part of the Zoids franchise).

Questions, comments, discrepencies, and concerns will all be addressed as they come up. Thanks in advance for reading, and I hope you enjoy it. ^_^

-Patrick "Darquarius" Radcliff


	2. Prologue: Fallen From Grace

It was a bright and sunny day about fifteen klicks outside of Zenebas City. Zaber Advanced Tactical Infantry Squad, or ZATIS for short, designation 'Delta 19', was out on a routine training operation. The skies were that kind of clear where you can see the various gradients of blue streaking across the vast nothingness above you, almost as though you were out in the middle of the ocean and peering down into it's depths, only up instead of down. It was actually kind of dizzying, but Captain Reed Richards didn't mind at all, he loved days like this. He loved to imagine all the families who would be out enjoying their day in the sun, playing catch with their children, or maybe some young lovers chose today for a romantic walk in the park. All of them oblivious to the looming threat posed by the ever present Helic Republic that threatened to crush their way of life at the first sign of weakness. That sign would not come on Captain Richards' watch.

"We are nearing the target zone, drop RADAR to passive scans only and spread out, maintain shoulder distance of one hundred meters. Prepare for Assault pattern... gamma." He paused for a moment and smiled, choosing a random formation for his squad to follow. The young captain was maybe in his mid twenties. His long, snow white hair was only a shade or two light than his pale skin, and all of that conspired to make his purple eyes just have this unnatural allure to them. A very average height of six feet, Reed was a little on the heavier side, just over two hundred pounds, but most of that was his muscle build, softened with just a little bit of fluff around the edges. He wasn't a ripped and chiseled body builder, his mass was structured more practically.

"Sir." Came the replies and the distance between each of the seven Zaber Fangs was opened to the specified measurements. The unit's movements were fluid and uniform, like they'd done this hundreds of times and were of a hive mind. They had, and they almost were. Delta 19 was a star unit in the Zenebas military, having not only survived, but excelled in every operation given to it since Captain Richards took command of the unit only two years ago. The youngest son of Duke Richards, Vizier to The Fuhrer himself, Reed became an overnight celebrity when he elected to volunteer his service to the Zenebas Infantry Corps, promising to stay in the ranks and do his civic duty until he was forced to retire, or until Helic had been crushed. He hadn't even completed basic training before The Zenebas Propaganda machine began pumping out recruitment posters with his name all over it.

From boot camp he went straight into officer's candidacy school, where he came out a lieutenant. His advanced training continued for another year as he studied tactics, weapons, zoid anatomy, mechanics and engineering. It was discovered that he had not only a knack for zoid piloting, but a passion for it like very few others before him. He was given command of Delta 19 as soon as his training ended, and since then, the unit had become a shining example of what Lord Zenebas demanded from his soldiers. All across The Empire, Reed's fame increased recruitment and retention, and subjects far and wide followed his achievements. With each successful mission, Reed received another commendation, another medal, another award. As a Captain now, he was already more decorated than many Colonels. His career had a very bright future it seemed.

Reed didn't care about any of that though, in fact, he thought it was a little silly when they'd awarded him a Silver Star just for clearing out a Helic 'Sleeper Trap' that consisted of a measly ten guysacks. Ten. Guysacks. And he'd been given an award for 'Exceptional Valor'. He'd started to contest the award with his Colonel, but Colonel Marx informed him that Zenebas was likely just playing up his celebrity status to keep morale high. It was silly, but Reed had to admit, it seemed to work. So he kept his reluctance to himself and smiled brightly for the cameras. He didn't fancy himself a hero, but if a smile here and a pose there could help bolster The Empire's defenses and expedite the end of the war? Then that smile would be genuine, and that pose as heroic as he could make it.

"We have intermittent contacts ahead, Sir. Aerial zoids." His sergeant came over the headset. "Looks like three, maybe four Pteras."

"I copy, Delta, aim high, weapons tight." Reed responded, issuing his orders. "This cannot be the entire unit. Command would not have sent us after four little Pteras units. Wait for visual confirmation before giving away our position." His eyes narrowed lightly as he kept his eyes over the horizon as his Zaber Fang charged forward. The Chrome-Silver Zaber was hardly intended for stealth, quite to the contrary, Reed's favorite tactic was making himself the apparent target of his enemies, drawing their fire away from his allies as much as possible and freeing them up to aim and eliminate targets. Just as he'd commanded his men to do, he elevated the 70mm hybrid chain gun mounted to the Zaber's back. A glimmer off in the distant sky drew Reed's attention and he toggled a switch with his left hand before pushing a few buttons, his cockpit's HUD displaying a zoomed view of the far off zoids.

"Sir, visual confirmation on five Pteras in formation. Looks like a Radome and four bombers... You don't think..."

"This is just training, Sergeant, calm yourself and complete the mission. If there were any such threat of a Helic Terrorist attack, Intelligence would have notified us by now..."

"Delta One Nine, this is Base Plate, over." Reed was interrupted.

"Speak of the devil..." Reed said quietly, keeping his eyes on that Radome before flipping another switch. "Base Plate, this is Delta One Nine Alpha, something come up? Over." Reed replied.

"Affirmative, Delta One Nine Alpha, be advised that we're detecting Helic aerial units in your vicinity. Your unit is authorized to engage at will, over." The radio responded.

"I copy, Base Plate, we have visual on five Pteras units, one radome, four bombers, preparing to engage. Heil Zenebas, over and out." Reed said before flipping the switch and taking a breath as he tightened his grip on the control sticks inside his cockpit.

"Heil Zenebas, Delta One Nine. Over and out." Base Plate responded.

"Alright, ladies." Reed poked at the men in his unit. "We have five Helic Tangos heading for the capital. I do not know how they managed to get this deep into Zenebas territory without being spotted until now, but I do know that they will go no further. Go weapons free. Teach these bastards what happens when you cross a Zaber's path. Heil Zenebas." And with that, all seven Zabers launched missiles and rockets at the five Pteras units, which scattered in response. Two of them were caught by missiles and destroyed.

"Tango down." Came the report from One Nine Delta.

"Check two!" One Nine Echo sounded off. Reed's Zaber fired it's boosters and took off after the radome unit, leveling the hybrid cannon and firing a continuous volley of 20 rounds per second into the air at it. Had it not already been daylight, the energy laced 70mm rounds would've lit the sky up around that unit. It barrel rolled and swerved to avoid the first few seconds of fire, and then the chaingun ripped across the bottom of the fuselage and an explosion powered down the magnesser wings that kept the zoid in the air. It was coming down fast and hard now. The pilot ejected.

"Tango down." Reed reported, but received no answer. Glancing at his radar screen, the other six Zabers had vanished. "Delta One Nine, report." He said as he turned around and started running back the way he'd come. They were nowhere to be seen. There hadn't been any explosions. There was no more gun fire either. "Delta One Nine, sound off!" He barked into the headset, but there was no answer. "Base Plate, this is Delta One Nine Alpha, please respond." Reed said, flipping his toggle. He heard only static in response. "Base Plate! Respond! What the hell is going on out here?!" He demanded. "Base Pla..." He was stopped by the tone that sounded off in the cockpit, accompanied by the red light whose label read 'lock on'. "Base Plate! If you can hear me, I am having some communications malfunctions and cannot locate my team. I am being engaged by the remaining two tangos. I will eliminate them and return to base. Heil Zenebas, Delta One Nine Alpha, over and out." He toggled the switch back and growled.

"Alright, Saba, it looks as though it is just you and me now, old friend. Let us show them that we are not so easily defeated as they!" And he pushed forward on the control sticks, hard, causing the Zaber Fang to hop forward and dig all four claws into the ground, screeching to a halt and allowing the two Pteras units to zip past. "Now I have you!" Reed grinned, locking onto the first one and firing his last volley of missiles. The fuselage burst into flames and the pilot may or may not have ejected. It was hard to tell a cockpit from that much debris, and he had one more active Pteras to worry about first. Turning around, he spotted the aerial zoid just as his lock on light came back on. His purple eyes widened as two missiles shot forward from beneath the Pteras' wings. "Oh boy... GYAH!" He cried out as he yanked back on the control sticks, causing Saba to take off running towards the missiles. "One chance... NOW!" He jammed down the foot pedals and the Zaber leapt into the sky, firing it's booster rockets, and attempting to jump over the missiles to evade them. It worked. The two missiles sailed underneath him, and the explosion behind him was gratifying as could be as Saba kept running forward, but at a slightly more comfortable pace.

"Now where did he..." BOOM! One of the two homing missiles had circled upwards and looped around, slamming into the Zaber's back and shattering the missile pods and hybrid chain gun. The Zaber Fang fell to the ground and the momentum made it slide across the ground roughly before rolling to a stop several dozen meters from the point of impact. Inside the cockpit, Reed was roughed up a bit, but his harness had kept him from suffering too much damage. "Ugh..." He grunted, shaking his head free of the daze. "No system freeze. Come on, Saba, we are not done yet!" He growled, the Zaber climbing back to it's feet and taking off running again. "Diagnostics running..." Reed spoke to himself as the computer screen ran a systems scan. "We have only the strike laser claws and the shock cannons left..." He chuckled. "We will have to make due, yeah?" He said as the lock on tone sounded again. "One more time, Saba, let us end this!" And he slammed on the brakes again, allowing the Pteras to, once more fly right past him. "NOW!" He yelled out as all three barrels of the shock cannon fired quickly. One of the Pteras' wings was clipped and the magnesser energy stopped, sending the zoid into a flaming spiral of a nose dive that ended in an explosion off in the distance.

"YES!" Reed cheered, thrusting his fist forward into the air inside the cockpit. "That is what happens when you mess with..." His lock on light came on again, and his eyes widened, shifting down to his RADAR screen. "That was the last one though..." He said. Missiles were suddenly coming at him from all directions. "DAMMIT! RUN SABA!" Reed yelled out, pulling back on the control stick and firing the boosters once more. The first explosion missed him, but the concussive force caught the back end of his jump, sending the Zaber sideways into a roll across the ground that ended with the back legs slamming into a boulder. Another warning light came on inside the cockpit indicating the left back leg had been wrecked by the impact and was inoperable. Still, Reed got the Zaber back up with three legs and started moving, flipping switches and toggles as he watched his HUD and RADAR.

"Where are they, Saba, I do not see anyone out there to..." Another volley of missiles went into the sky. "No, no, no!" He took off running again, only at sixty percent his zoid's speed, though, if he could get into the tree line, perhaps the trees would catch some of them and he could avoid a direct hit.

It wasn't happening. He was just too slow.

"Base Plate, if you read this, this is Delta One Nine Alpha. I am under attack by stealthy enemy force, at least ten zoids with heavy artillery. My Zaber is crippled and I cannot escape. Do not let them reach the city..." He swallowed and closed his eyes as the missiles closed in. "Heil Zenebas... Delta One Nine Alpha, Over and..."

Only static finished the message.


	3. Chapter 1: The Man In The Moonlight

There exists a planet in the Milky Way galaxy, opposite Earth in another outer spiral arm, called Zi. Zi's creation came about as a chain of seemingly endless calamities and cataclysms, throughout the planet's early life, no less than 10 small planetoids crashed into it's surface, the resulting impacts being responsible for the serious lack of any sort of reliability on studying the planet's prehistory. There's no telling how many times ancient cultures rose and fell because of that. The earliest reliable historical documents go back to ZAC 1693, when a historian from The Wind Tribe discovered iron plates that had been engraved with a runic language. Translating the plates, Dr. Babahot came to the conclusion that the plate must have been 1693 years old and the year of the plate's creation became universally known as ZAC 1.

Around a million years prior to this discovery was when the last hailstorm of planetoids struck Zi, creating it's currently formed geography, since then, the planet had become a tumultuous breeding ground for natural disasters. The planet's crust had been all but destroyed, large chunks of it flying up into the upper atmosphere where orbital patterns and gravity coalesced the fragments into three moons. The planet's water supply was largely vaporized and contaminated by the exposed mantle of the planet. The vapors increased the density of the atmosphere and began chain of extremely hazardous and cataclysmic weather patterns. Volcanoes and earthquakes happened everywhere as the shattered fragments of Zi and the planetoids that had nearly destroyed it merged into what is now the current composition of Zi. Over the course of several hundred thousand years, these cataclysms continually threatened to wipe out Zoidians and Zoids alike. Somehow, though, they survived, and from around 10,000 pre-ZAC, to around 1600 ZAC, the conditions began to slowly stabilize. Life gradually began to get easier for the life forms on Zi and tiny tribes began coalescing into larger and more influential tribes.

This melding of tribal cultures came to a head around 1740 ZAC, when the fifty plus tribes melded into eight tribes, each one named for an element. For almost two centuries, these tribes would continue their expansion campaigns, covering the entirety of the central continent, which would later become known as Delpoi. These tribes had long since domesticated the Wild Zoids of the planet, using them as transportation, beasts of labor and burden, and sometimes even mounted battle units, with the latter being especially popular among the Wind and Earth tribes. Skirmishes occurred between tribes and the scientists of the culture, as primitive as they were, studied the corpses of Wild Zoids rather adamantly. The first scientist to discover the process of condensing a Wild Zoid's vital organs into a posthumous 'Core' is a subject of much debate. Naturally, each culture involved claims that they were the first, and while records were kept, the accuracy of those records is dubious at best. What -is- known, is that the first manmade Zoids were created somewhere circa 1850 ZAC. This was when warfare took a sharp escalation which saw it's climax in the early 1900's ZAC.

Led by a Zoid pilot of legend from the Wind Tribe, Helic Muroa, the Eastern tribes banded together and resisted the oppressive command of Guylos, the invader from the West. Guylos was an idyllic individual who sought to unite all eight tribes of Delpoi, whether they wanted unification or not. Ironically, this unrelenting drive would be his own downfall later on. The two united fronts took the names of their respective leaders and the nation of Helic, and the Guylos Empire were born into bloody warfare, officially declaring war on one another in 1920 ZAC, this war continued for 35 years, until the invasion from the North happened in 1955.

No one knows for sure where The Dark Army came from or who was commanding it. But the Deochalcum powered Zoids achieved landing on Delpoi's North Western shores in late 1955. At first, Guylos tried to fight a war on two fronts, but after only three months, in the early part of 1956 ZAC, Guylos formally submitted a plea for cease fire from Helic. Helic agreed to join forces with Guylos, and their combined military might was turned against the Dark Army. It took just over a year, but they were able to drive them back to the Northern Continent of Nyx, and it was then, in the celebration of victory, that Helic dealt the political death knell to Guylos himself.

Boasting that The Empire would have been over-run (a fact that no one really contested, including Guylos), Helic motioned that the two nations become one unified nation, a republic nation, with him as their king opposite a parliamentary structure headed by Guylos. Guylos was furious at Helic's treachery as were many Guylos loyalists. However, Guylos was vastly out numbered and knew all too well that he stood no chance at resisting Helic's keen political maneuver. So, he simply took his loyalists, and left. It would be a very long time before anyone knew where, exactly, he'd gone to.

Fast forward a bit and King Helic dies at the ripe, old age of 78. Leaving his position as King to his son Helic Muroa Jr., while his younger son, Zenebas Muroa, has risen through the military ranks to be commanding officer of The Republic's armed forces. It's common knowledge that the two sons didn't get along at all, and while Helic's history reports Zenebas as an iron fisted dictator of a military general, Zenebas' history depicts Helic as a pacifist who was unwilling to assert the government's rule over unruly citizens. Whichever the case may be, it led to Zenebas' eventual defection in the year 1978, where fled West to take control of Guygalos City, the former capital of The Guylos Empire. Lacking in military leadership, The Helic Republic wasn't able to hold on to most of their Western provinces, and The Zenebas Empire was born, Zenebas taking upon himself the title of Fuhrer.

For two years there was no organized war effort on Helic's part as they scrambled to hold on to what properties they had left, but that ended in 1980 ZAC, when Helic sent it's first organized military counter strike to halt the advanced of The Zenebas Army at Red River. The battle was an intense, bloody conflict the likes of which had never been seen before, and has never been seen since. Both armies continued to reinforce their positions for four long months. Eventually, though, Zenebas was routed, though Helic's forces were too weak and dwindled to give chase. The battle ended in a treaty which acknowledged The Zenebas Empire as an independent nation, and entered both nations into a cease fire, though obvious distrust remained. The treaty would last for 38 years, and was, at the time, the longest period of peace the people of Delpoi had ever known.

After almost four decades of peace, though, The Dragon's Head fortress, which was Zenebas's border guard on their side of The Red River, saw an enormous increase in activity, which was observed by Helic's Red River base. Zenebas Colonel Carl Schubaltz insisted that the increased activity was merely a series of training exercises, but despite these reports, King Helic wasn't about to let Zenebas get the upper hand in some sort of pre-emptive strike. So, in addition to reinforcing the units at Red River Base, he also sent a message to his estranged brother. Assaulting, and capturing the desert property of Romeo City in the year 2018 ZAC. Thus, Zenebas declared a retaliatory strike, and The Desert War began.

Eleven years later, neither side has really gained much ground, and a large strip of territory in between the two nations has seen a lot of abuse, the people there suffering horribly as their homes are destroyed in an invasion, and they rebuild, only to have the homes destroyed again when they're captured again. Many of these cities simply fade away, the inhabitants running off to cities deeper inside whichever border they prefer. The entire war would come to a screeching, grinding halt, however, as the Earth Spacecraft known as The Globally III crash lands onto Delpoi in 2029 ZAC, carving out an enormous trench right on the border between the two nations. A temporary cease fire was agreed upon as both nations sent their best doctors and scientists to figure out exactly what had happened.

The people of The Globally III were injured and both nations rushed the survivors off to medical facilities within their own borders. The Desert War was forgotten about, and another wave of peace came over the continent as both cultures engaged in a different kind of warfare: Cold Warfare. The introduction of the highly advanced Human Technology changed the look, feel, and power of Zoids, and with it the face of Warfare was changed as well. Both nations made massive strides in weapons, armor, and systems technology. New Zoids came out of this development at a highly accelerated rate, culminating very recently in the Zenebas production of The Zaber Fang, and the Helic production of The Shield Liger.

For the past thirty one years, the nations of this planet have been stockpiling so much weaponry, that the slightest of hair triggers could probably detonate the entire continent. And then the hair trigger came, with the Republic's assassination of Zenebas Posterboy: Commander Reed Richards.

The bazaar district of Ironton City was dwindling in activity as the sun began to sink low into the horizon. Doctor Zia Corentin was finishing up her paperwork for the evening and preparing to go home after a long, hard day. Ironton's clinic was always over worked and under staffed, but the city couldn't really help it. Life in The Neutral Provinces was difficult enough with the war having been restarted. The city had militarized itself with salvaged and imported Zoids, mostly small frame models like Guysacks and Molgas, but they also had three Command Wolves, a Cannon Tortoise, and a Redler that had been refitted with a pair of beam cannons on the underside of the fuselage. Sufficient to say, with all their money being tied up in city defenses, they didn't have much to spare for civil services like the clinic. Zia worked for a modest wage, but it was sufficient for her.

The only thing about Ironton that bothered her, was the fact that it drew in the worst kinds of people. Mercenaries, Bounty Hunters, Bandits, and Deserters all came through here, looking for a way to either profit from the war, or escape it. And in both cases, the individuals were arrogant, loud, obnoxious ruffians who thought they were God's gift to Zi, just because they had some mediocre skill with a Zoid. Hating anyone was really against Zia's nature, but she strongly, strongly, disliked them. If it weren't for that? Ironton would be a perfectly lovely city to call home.

She finally finished her closing paperwork and sighed, reaching up and removing her glasses for a moment as she lifted her other hand to massage her sinuses for a moment. Done with that, her deep azure eyes opened again, hidden away behind the thin lenses of her glasses. She rose from her chair to her modest height of five feet and three inches, then bent over the desk a little, her small, nimble hands gathering up her papers, placing them in the case folder and then closing it, setting the folder in the outbox of her desk for the clerk to file away in the morning. Then she stepped out from behind the desk and smoothed out the front of her khaki-colored, pleated skirt. It fell to a stop below her knees, a simple pair of white socks covering her ankles as they reached up from her simple, black flats.

The sleeves of her white, button-down blouse were pushed up her forearms lightly as she walked into the clinic's bathroom, turning on the water and dispensing a small amount of liquid soap onto her hands. Sighing with a bit of exhaustion, she washed her hands free of that thin layer of grime that comes with handling a lot of paperwork. Looking up at herself in the mirror, she frowned lightly at a small lock of her long black hair that had come loose from her braid, somehow. Her pretty facial features were given a once over, as if to check and make sure she hadn't picked up any blemishes throughout the work day, and then she turned off the water, taking a moment to dry her hands on a paper towel before shutting off the lights, picking up her brown, leather, messenger bag, and then locking the door on her way out of the office, she stepped out onto the dark, night-time streets of Ironton.

She stepped briskly down the main street of the bazaar district, heading back towards her apartment complex, which was only a mile and a half away, usually it was a pleasant walk to and from work, but tonight, something just felt off about it. She felt as though she were being watched, but couldn't see or hear anything that might've been to blame for it. Passing one side street where an all-night tavern was located, she noticed a trio of men wearing what seemed to be military-issue cargo pants bloused into black, leather boots, with tight cotton t-shirts that emphasized their muscular builds. She didn't even stop to give them a second look, but she knew their type: Mercenaries.

"Heeeey, honey." One of them called out as she passed by, his buddies chiming in with cat calls and whistles. She made a point to not respond in any way, shifting her gaze downward to the sidewalk she continued walking, ignoring the jeers coming from behind her. She waited to hear the jeers and cat calls growing more quiet as she put distance between her and them, but it didn't happen. Even after she'd put more than twenty yards between her and that side street, the cat calls, whistles, and laughter continued. "Hey come back! We don't wanna hurt you!" The apparent leader offered something vaguely resembling reassurance, but it was only more unsettling.

"I don't think she likes you, Man." One of his buddies laughed after a while. Clearly, all three of them were heavily inebriated. The other one began laughing and patting the leader on the back.

"Heyheyhey..." He laughed again. "Maybe she... maybe she thinks she's too good for you, dude." He laughed again. The leader didn't seem to find this as funny as his two comrades did.

"Shut your traps." He growled at them before yelling after Zia. "Hey! It's rude to not answer someone when they're talking to you!" He barked at her. All alone with these drunken scumbags in the middle of the night on an abandoned street with all kinds of dark alleys they could drag her off into? Yeah, she wasn't even about to dignify this guy with a response. She simply started walking a bit faster, her nerves on edge as she just wanted to get home and... "So that's how it's gonna be? Fine. Get her, boys." The leader commanded, and all three of them started running after her. With a simple squeak of panic, Zia held her messenger bag to her chest as she took off running as well. She was smaller and not as athletic as these men were, but she -did- have a good head start on them. Bolting down the street, she finally saw a decently lit intersection and turned right, hoping to find an alcove or something she could juke into to hide from them. Instead, she slammed into something else. Something tall and strong with arms that caught her to keep her from falling to the ground. For all she knew, it was an accomplice to those men, but she had nothing else to lose at this point.

"Whoa, now!" The man responded in a strange accent. His voice was softer and happy-sounding.

"Help me, please! Men are chasing me!" She nearly sobbed out, expecting him to laugh at her, but was instead pushed lightly until she was behind him.

"Stay behind me, yeah?" He said, his voice still soft, but losing the tones of laughter and amusement it had possessed earlier. Her eyes still closed, she hadn't yet looked at her apparent savior, she just kept her forehead buried into the back of what felt like a leather jacket of some sort. Then she heard the chorus of stomping boots that came around the corner, brought to a halt when her rescuer did something that produced a series of clicking sounds. Was that a gun being cocked?! She still didn't dare look. "Good evening, gentlemen." The strange sounding man greeted her pursuers. "Nice night for a jog in the moonlight?" He asked.

"Huh?" One of the goons asked. "We're chasing after that... ooof!" He grunted out as the leader elbowed him in the side.

"Uhhh, yeah, sure man, nice night for a jog." The leader replied to Zia's rescuer. "Look, man, we don't want any trouble..."

"Oh." The mystery man laughed lightly. "That is a relief! I would hate to ruin this wonderful evening with trouble, yeah?" He asked with a chuckle. The three guys laughed a little in response, and Zia finally opened her eyes to see that her rescuer had produced a massive, silver revolver with a twelve inch barrel, and was simply holding it in his right hand, casually pointed down at the sidewalk as he spoke with her would-be attackers, who suddenly seemed a bit more sober now that they were in risk of being shot at.

"Yeah." The leader chuckled back nervously. "Yeah, man, trouble sucks. Listen, um, we're just..." He started stepping backwards with his two friends. "We've been out late, you know, pay day, boys wanna party hard, we should... um..." The mystery man chuckled jovially in response.

"Sounds like you have had a fun and busy night, you should probably turn in a little early, yeah? Sleep off all that partying." He suggested with a casual nod. "Oh, and make sure you drink a glass of water." The man added, reaching up and tapping the side of his head with his free hand. "Helps stave off the hangover, yeah?"

"Yeah, man, good idea. Come on, boys, let's um... let's go get some shut eye..." The leader grabbed his buddies by the collar and tugged harshly, nearly dragging them back around the collar. Zia sighed out a breath of relief and looked up to greet her hero more personally as he lowered the hammer on the pistol and then tucked it back into it's shoulder holster, safely hidden beneath his jacket. He then turned to her and she could see his pale skin, long, white hair that had been pulled half back, and gleaming purple eyes. She breathed out a light gasp for a moment. Was this...?

"You should be safe now, yeah?" The man asked, offering her his hand. "I am Buck Daniels. Might I ask who I have the pleasure of saving tonight?" Even now, he still spoke with a happy tone in his voice, laughter and joy in his eyes as though everything in life were just perfect for him.

"Huh? Oh! Forgive me! I'm Zia." She responded, shaking his hand gently. "Thank you, Mr. Daniels, thank you so very much." She nodded, still calming down a little.

"Think nothing of it, yeah?" Buck responded. "And please, call me Buck, I am not old enough to be a 'Mister'." He chuckled, waving a gloved hand dismissively. Buck stood around six feet tall and had a fairly impressive build himself, though unlike the others, he hid most of his muscle away behind a thick, leather jacket with a puffy, white, cotton, fleece lining on the collar. He did wear the black cargo slacks, bloused into spit shined combat boots, that were so common among the Mercenaries. What marked him as different, however, was the kind and jovial demeanor that just seemed to radiate off of him.

"Well, alright, thank you, Buck." she repeated her gratitude.

"You're very welcome." He chuckled with another response. "Listen, I have nothing better to do right now, I was simply out for a midnight stroll." He motioned up to the sky. "We albinos tend to not do so well in the sun, after all, yeah?" He explained with another laugh. Albinism certainly explained his ghastly pale expression, white hair, and purple eyes. Reed Richards, that noble from Zenebas, was an Albino too, wasn't he? "Anyway, I thought maybe, since you seem to be having a rough night, I could walk you home." He offered. "Make sure you get there in one piece, yeah?" He asked.

"I think..." Zia hesitated for a moment before smiling and nodding. "I think I'd like that, Buck. Thank you." She bowed and he smiled again before she started walking along side him and slightly ahead, so as to lead the way. "Are you a mercenary?" She asked after a moment, her voice still very timid and quiet.

"I am." Buck replied with a nod. "I came here looking for work, but it seems Ironton has already hired its fill of hired guns." He chuckled. "So now it is back to plan B for me." He nodded. She smiled lightly.

"Random contracts from random rich people?" She asked with a blank tone in her voice. Mercenaries typically hunted down the best jobs. In times of war, government contracts were highly prized because while the pay wasn't as high, it was steady work and a regular paycheck for several months, if not years. It also, typically, included discounted or even free maintenance on the Mercenaries' Zoids, which kept more money in their pockets. Cities profited off of these deals because the Mercenaries would then spend their hard-earned cash in bars, taverns, and accommodations in the city. Everyone was a winner. But if those contracts couldn't be found, the mercs would just move on to the next city, or maybe put the word out. The wealthy individuals of Zi, franchised or not, were -always- wanting mercs for various purposes.

"Not quite." Buck replied with a light laugh. "Eventually, perhaps, but I have enough resources at the moment to pursue something of a more... personal... project." He nodded with a chuckle. "See, I had a friend that died last year in a Zoid battle." He explained a little bit. "And he told me of the ruins around Ironton." He explained. Zia nodded and smiled a little bit.

"So you're a salvage dealer, then." She summarized.

"You could put it that way." Buck replied with a grin and a nod. "I do deal in quite a bit of salvage." He continued walking with her. "More particularly, though. My friend told me that he knew of a ruin in this area, that contained an Organoid." Buck nodded. Zia stopped for a moment and looked at the man, with his jovial personality and effervescent attitude, it took her a moment to decide whether or not he was serious.

"An Organoid? Here in Ironton?" She laughed lightly. "Don't you think the locals would have found such a thing by now if it were out there?" She asked.

"I have considered that, yes." Buck responded with a nod. "But my friend was not a foolish man, nor was he a dishonest man." He continued. "He died before he could tell me how he came to know about this Organoid, but if he says it is here, then I believe him." Buck smiled and looked up into the night sky, almost dreamily. "So, since I cannot obtain employment here, I will ask around, see if anyone knows anything, maybe there's even a capable pilot willing to help me look, yeah?" He chuckled. Zia couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm, her apartment complex was coming up on the right and she pointed.

"Well, this is my last stop." She sighed contentedly, pointing. "Apartment 8. Right over there on the corner." She pointed to a place with flowers all over the porch and in window boxes, the porch light left on so she could see to get inside.

"Then I will leave you to it, yeah?" He said with a smile. "I am certain your significant other is waiting for your return eagerly." He nodded.

"Oh, um..." She blushed a little and tucked that stray lock behind her ear with a nervous smile. "I... I live alone." She said finally. "I'm not seeing anyone." Buck looked a little shocked by this revelation for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

"I see, forgive my presumption, then." He smiled. "Perhaps I will visit you again sometime, then. I will be around for a while, after all. I have to finish repairs on my Dragoon Nest before I can leave..."

"You have a Dragoon Nest?!" Zia said with a shocked expression of her own. "I heard those are super rare to find in working order!" She followed up.

"Well, it was not exactly in working order when I found it, yeah?" Buck laughed a little more. "The scrap dealer I bought it off of couldn't get rid of it, it is a work in progress, but completely worth the effort. When I am finished, she will be beautiful." He chuckled. Zia smiled and nodded.

"Alright then, Buck, yeah, feel free to visit when you have time." She offered her hand to him. "And thank you again for the escort." Buck smiled and shook her hand firmly, but gently.

"The pleasure was mine, Zia." He responded. "It is not often I get the opportunity to walk with a charming young woman like you. Goodnight." He smiled more brightly for a moment, then turned to walk off with a wave over his shoulder.

"Yeah, goodnight..." Zia replied, staring after him for a moment before turning and walking into her home to finally relax and settle down for the night. What a night this had been.


End file.
